. >>> in michigan, republican governor rick snyder signed a new abortion law for his state. the controversial measure requires any clinic that performs more than 120 abortions a year to become a quote licensed free standing surgical outpatient facility. it also takes steps to ensure pregnant women are not being coerced into a decision and includes rules that a physician must follow to, quote, properly and respectfully dispose of fetal remains. supporters say the bill protects the patients. critics argue it will force clinics to shut down and restrict access for women. >>> a tail of two cities as chicago's homicide rate increases topping 500 murders in the year, by the way. new york city's on pace for the lowest murder rate since 1963. that is when they began keeping records. as of yesterday, four days before the new year, of course, the city had 414 homicides, that's 57 less than the previous low back in 2009. the high for a single year was 2,245 back in 1990. wow. mayor michael bloomberg says the numbers are another sign that the big apple is the, quote, safest big city in